Fire Regulations in Wisconsin (2026)

Recreational fire pits, outdoor fireplaces and open cooking fires in Appleton need a Fire Department permit unless the…

All outdoor fire is banned in the City of Mosinee except for listed exceptions. Cooking over a device built for that…

Ashwaubenon bans wood-burning fire pits at licensed short-term rentals on any balcony, deck, or under an overhang, and…

Beloit allows portable outdoor fireplaces such as chimineas and fire bowls under strict conditions set by Code of…

Recreational fires are allowed in Burlington only in a substantial metal, concrete, brick or earth container, between…

Dane County limits open fires in its parks to firepits, fireplaces, grills, or spots the parks division specifically…

De Pere exempts backyard campfires and fire pits at single-family and two-family homes from its open burning ban under…

Green Bay allows recreational fires and fire pits only on residential single- or two-family lots, kept 25 feet from…

Kenosha allows recreational fires in outdoor fireplaces or fire pits under Code § 3.19(B)(5), but only with the…

Little Chute allows wood or charcoal fire pits up to 4 feet across and 4 feet high, kept 25 feet from structures and…

Madison allows outdoor fireplaces and fire pits without a license under MGO § 34.307(6), but only if they sit at least…

Middleton allows dry-wood outdoor recreational fireplaces and fire pits without a burning permit under Municipal Code…

Recreational fires in the City of Milton, Wisconsin must be confined to a barrel, fire ring or fire pit, and a bonfire…

Milwaukee requires open burning to happen only in an approved, covered metal, concrete or brick container kept at least…

There is no county-wide backyard fire pit ordinance; recreational fires on private property are governed by each city…

Neenah allows recreational fires at single- and two-family homes only inside a portable or in-ground fire pit, kept at…

Within Oneida County's own campgrounds, campfires are allowed only for cooking or heating and only inside a designated…

Residential open fires for cooking or recreation are allowed in Racine County if kept at least 10 feet from the…

Rock County has no county-wide fire-pit code; rules are set by your town, city or village. In the unincorporated towns…

Backyard fire pits and rings in Rothschild are exempt from the outdoor burning permit as long as they stay within 36…

Outdoor fireplaces and fixed fire pits are two of the enumerated exceptions to Sun Prairie's open burning ban, but the…

Waukesha allows residential outdoor burning between 3 p.m. and midnight in a below-ground fire pit or outdoor fireplace…

Recreational backyard fires are governed by your municipality. In the Town of Waukesha, outdoor fires must use an…

Wausau allows recreational fires at single-family and two-family homes only inside a fire pit under Municipal Code §…

A permanent outdoor fireplace in Wauwatosa must sit in a location that meets the city's standard building setback…

West Allis allows only fully enclosed wood-burning devices as an exception to its open-burning ban, and requires them…

Winnebago County caps portable fire pits and recreational fires on Lake Winnebago's frozen surface at a 30-inch…

New Berlin exempts cooking fires, barbecue pits, grills and outdoor fireplaces used for food preparation, and bonfires…

Kenosha County's zoning ordinance does not require a zoning permit to build a fire pit. Municipal Code § 12.05.020(e)…

Wisconsin restricts most consumer fireworks under Wis. Stat. § 167.10, requiring a user permit issued by the local…

Wis. Stat. §167.10 requires a user's permit for nearly all consumer fireworks (firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman…

Fitchburg, Wisconsin has elected under state law to regulate fireworks and bans selling, possessing for sale, or using…

Madison bans nearly all consumer fireworks under MGO 23.05, following WI Stat 167.10 which allows cities to further…

Wis. Stat. §167.10 requires a user's permit for nearly all consumer fireworks (firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman…

Milwaukee bans selling, keeping, using or discharging fireworks anywhere in the city, with fines up to $1,000 and jail…

Wis. Stat. §167.10 requires a user's permit for nearly all consumer fireworks (firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman…

Wis. Stat. §167.10 governs fireworks statewide and requires a local user's permit issued by the mayor, village…

Washington County bans selling fireworks anywhere in the county and forbids possessing or using fireworks without a…

Waukesha bans selling, exposing for sale, using, keeping, discharging or exploding fireworks citywide, allowing them…

Waukesha County bans fireworks throughout its unincorporated towns by adopting Wis. Stat. § 167.10(1) as a county…

Wauwatosa bans all fireworks without a permit under Ordinance 14.32.030, including sparklers, caps, and snakes. Permits…

Wis. Stat. §167.10 requires a user's permit for nearly all consumer fireworks (firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman…

Appleton adopts Wisconsin's fireworks statute, Wis. Stat. § 167.10, banning consumer fireworks use citywide except…

The Village of Ashwaubenon bans possessing, using or selling fireworks except under a permit issued by the Chief of…

Burlington bans selling fireworks or possessing them for sale, and bars using, displaying or discharging any fireworks…

Dane County Code § 34.05 bars anyone from bringing or possessing fireworks containing an explosive or flammable…

Setting off fireworks or other pyrotechnic devices at any Fond du Lac County park, trail, conservation area, or boat…

Rock County adopts Wisconsin's fireworks statute, Wis. Stat. § 167.10, in full by ordinance and raises the maximum…

In the towns under Walworth County zoning and elsewhere in unincorporated Walworth County, selling fireworks or…

Wausau bans consumer fireworks by adopting Wisconsin's fireworks statute, Wis. Stat. § 167.10, into the Municipal Code…

Kenosha County Code § 9.01 adopts Wisconsin's fireworks statute, Wis. Stat. § 167.10, in full, replacing its penalty…

Consumer fireworks in Wisconsin are governed by Wis. Stat. 167.10 and by each city, village, or town, not the county…

Sun Prairie repealed its old fireworks chapter in 2024 and now regulates fireworks through its own amendments to IFC…

Wisconsin has no defensible-space wildfire law, but Wis. Stat. 66.0407 requires every landowner to destroy noxious…

Wisconsin requires a DNR burning permit for most outdoor debris burning in DNR Protection Areas under Wis. Stat. §…

Green Bay bans burning solid waste, trash, and yard waste outdoors citywide under Municipal Code § 32-4(c); only small…

Open burning in Wisconsin is regulated by the DNR under NR 429 and by each municipality, not by Milwaukee County. NR…

The City of Mosinee bans all outdoor fire within city limits by default. The only seasonal exception for yard debris…

Wausau bans open burning, refuse burning, burn barrels and outdoor wood boilers citywide under Municipal Code §…

Wauwatosa bars burning leaves, lawn or garden refuse anywhere in the city, public or private, under Wauwatosa Municipal…

West Allis bans open burning of leaves, garden refuse, wood and other combustible material citywide, with narrow…

Appleton bans burning garbage, leaves or yard waste in outdoor incinerators anywhere in the city, and no waste, refuse…

The Village of Ashwaubenon's Fire Inspection Division chief can declare a burning ban whenever weather conditions…

Beloit bans outdoor burning of any material under Code of Ordinances § 6.03(1)(a), amending Wis. Admin. Code SPS…

Burlington bans open-air burning of any combustible waste material unless the Fire Department issues a permit at least…

De Pere bans all open burning within city limits under Code § 58-9(a), except for the narrow exemptions the section…

Fitchburg, Wisconsin bans open burning citywide except on land outside the Urban Service Area or under a permitted…

Kenosha bans open burning citywide under Code § 3.19(B): "Open burning and sky lanterns are prohibited" except for…

Little Chute bans open outdoor fires village-wide except under conditions set by ordinance: wood or charcoal fuel only…

Madison bans open burning without a license from the Fire Chief. MGO § 34.307 prohibits burning rubbish, leaves and…

Middleton bans open burning of leaves, grass, wood, rubbish or other combustible material anywhere on a street, alley…

Open burning, outdoor burning and refuse burning are banned everywhere in the City of Milton, Wisconsin unless Section…

Neenah bans building any outdoor fire within city limits except the specific cooking, recreational-fire, and permitted…

New Berlin bans burning anything outside a building unless a City permit allows it, and even permitted grass, leaf and…

Racine County prohibits all open fires except for a short list of permitted uses like cooking, ceremonies, forest…

Open burning in Rothschild takes a District permit under Chapter 306's Article VIII, is limited to the hours of 4:00…

Open burning is banned across the City of Sun Prairie by default. The city's amended IFC Section 307 allows it only for…

Waukesha bans outdoor burning citywide except for narrow exceptions like cooking appliances, decorative lighting or…

Milwaukee allows open burning only in an approved container or metal, concrete or brick burner, kept 15 feet from…

Wisconsin DNR generally prohibits open burning except for narrow exceptions in NR 429.04, and you must burn under safe…

Wisconsin DNR rules and your municipality control open burning. You may burn only small amounts of dry leaves, clean…

Wisconsin DNR designates statewide Fire Protection Areas under Wis. Stat. § 26.11 where the agency holds primary…

Appleton requires at least one approved smoke alarm in every dwelling unit, with existing units held to the state…

The Village of Ashwaubenon adopts the Wisconsin smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector code by reference under its…

Beloit's Property Maintenance Code spells out exactly where smoke detectors go in every dwelling under § 7.25(8): one…

Burlington requires every smoke detector, battery-powered or electrically interconnected, to be tested at least once…

De Pere folds the state's smoke and carbon monoxide detector rules straight into its own building code. Sec…

Fitchburg, Wisconsin requires new residential buildings with three or more dwelling units to install a manual alarm…

Green Bay's Fire Code lets the Fire Chief order battery smoke detectors replaced with hardwired units after they're…

Kenosha's Property Maintenance Code requires a functional smoke detector in every dwelling, dwelling unit and lodging…

Madison's Peter Talen Smoke Alarm Ordinance, MGO § 34.907, requires smoke alarms in every bedroom, sleeping area, and…

Middleton enforces smoke alarm requirements by adopting the state's SPS 328 Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide…

Milton has no standalone smoke-alarm ordinance. Instead, City Code § 10-81 adopts the Wisconsin Uniform Dwelling Code…

Milwaukee requires a smoke detector in the basement and on every floor level of pre-1983 residential buildings, placed…

Smoke detector rules in Milwaukee County come from Wisconsin state law, Wis. Stat. 101.145, not a county ordinance…

Every dwelling unit in Neenah must have a working smoke detector on each inhabited floor, with the owner responsible…

The county's minimum housing code requires every dwelling unit to have a working smoke alarm, with one on each floor of…

Racine County's housing maintenance code requires smoke detectors outside every sleeping area and on each additional…

Statewide, Wis. Stat. 101.145 requires working smoke detectors in the basement, at each stairway head on every floor…

Rothschild adopts Wisconsin's SPS 328 smoke and carbon monoxide detector code by reference and layers its own testing…

Wisconsin state law (Wis. Stat. 101.145) requires a functional smoke detector in the basement, at the head of each…

Every building in Wausau with one or more residential occupancies or dwelling units must have the minimum smoke…

West Allis Fire Department enforces the state smoke-detector mandate under RMC § 5.10: if an owner ignores a five-day…

New Berlin's fire code exempts electrical service rooms from the automatic sprinkler mandate only if the room is…

Wisconsin uniformly regulates propane storage, installation, and handling under Wis. Admin. Code SPS 340, adopting NFPA…

Burlington's Fire Prevention Code bans storing bottled gases and propane inside any multifamily dwelling in the city…

Outdoor liquefied petroleum gas storage tanks over 500 pounds capacity must sit on a solid, nonflammable footing with a…

Propane (LP-gas) storage is regulated statewide by Wisconsin SPS 340, which adopts NFPA 58 for container design, siting…